


The Dragon Boy

by TheDragonWalker



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Blood, blood mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDragonWalker/pseuds/TheDragonWalker
Summary: Everything piling onto him at once is enough to push Steven's body to the breaking point, so it draws out the only thing it can think of to protect him....something that he never wanted.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. The beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a disaster of a night with his father, Steven makes an unsettling discovery.

Stress had been getting to him recently, and with that car crash, he wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, they tried to confront him, lecture him, get an answer, but he really didn’t feel like talking. It took so much convincing to get them to let him go to his room, claiming to be tired. He was tired, but he was also so many other things. So many other emotions. He was just done with everything happening to him, all of these changes and events, it was starting to strain him physically, which normally never happened….why was it doing that to him...and....why was his face hurting so badly? Pain is normally something easily resolved, what with his healing powers and all. The physical pain was getting to him, so he slowly stood up, looking around the room before he began to head downstairs, he hoped the others weren’t nearby, they’d start worrying and he’d get mad. There’d be another fight and he’d hurt one of them. Thankfully, they really weren’t downstairs, at least not in the room, which gave him the ability to slip into the bathroom. As he walked to the mirror, he put his hand on his cheek, it felt like there was some kind of...solid bump. When he pulled his hand away, he didn’t like what he saw, there was blood on his hand, not much, but it was there. Worry built up as he met eyes with himself in the mirror, heart stopping for a moment, as he saw what that bump really was. A horn. It couldn’t be anything else, it was the growing stub of a horn, piercing through his skin, causing him to bleed. He stared, shakily reaching for a small towel to soak up the blood, running it under cold water before holding it on the base of the horn. Steven knew what this was, he could already tell he was on the road to something he’s only ever seen full Gems fall victim to. It was slower, way slower, if it was like it was for pure Gems, he’d already be too far gone. His human half is holding the transformation at bay, but the sudden shock caused the horn to sprout further, forcing Steven to grit his teeth and try not to yell in pain. The others COULD NOT know. If they knew, they’d only worry more, and that’d make him more upset, they would only make it worse. How’s he supposed to hide something that’s on his cheek, clear as day? They’ll see, unless he hides. He started going over the possible places he could go, who he could trust with this information, somebody who’d understand. The plan was already in his mind when he noticed something on the other side of his face….he was already growing another horn, so there was no time to stall. Tonight was the night he had to leave. If he didn’t leave now, and it continued to spread, he’d have to deal with approaching his family with horns on his face, he’d have to deal with them knowing he’s corrupting….they’d be in danger. So, he had to gather his items, and head to the place where he desperately hoped he could find safety, maybe he’d get comfort from the person he has in mind. The bleeding has to stop before he can go any further, so he spent about ten more minutes washing the wound, taking deep breaths, trying to prevent the other horn from sprouting, trying to keep his current horn from growing further. Once he had calmed down, once he could make sure there was no more blood on his face, he went to prepare. No telling when the others could return, he had to work quickly and leave even quicker. He was gonna need a lot of things to last him, the towel would be useful again if the bleeding returns. Band Aids are useful too, so he took a box and made sure to grab the towel before retreating upstairs, he found a bag, one big enough to hold the few essentials he’d be taking. He packed clothes, then he found a medical kit when he came back to comb the bathroom for useful items, and he went over his list in his head. He had everything, everything he could think of.  
With the others oddly still not around, he slung the bag over his shoulder, but he couldn’t make another step before he felt a nudge under his arm. It was Lion. “ _Hey there buddy...you can’t come with me_ ”, Steven muttered, gently pushing the big pink cat away, trying to open the door. Lion groaned at him, nudging into him again. There was clear concern in the animal’s eyes. “ _Buddy...I can’t take you with me you know-_ ” as he was finishing the sentence, a thought crossed his mind, “ _Actually, you know what, maybe I can take you_ ”. This made Lion seem a bit happier, he licked Steven's hair, seemingly ignoring the horn on his face. Steven didn’t want to admit it to his pal, but the real reason he was taking Lion was because that would keep himself safe. Lion can teleport, if the others had Lion, Lion could lead 'em straight to him. Now, they couldn’t get to him. It made it better that the place where he was going didn’t have any warp pads around. Close by, at least.  
Now, his feline let him open the door, and offered to let him ride, giving a tiny roar as if to question the destination. This was when Lion noticed the horn on his friend’s face, but before he could try and pry for an answer, Steven was already talking. “ _You know Jasper right? She’s living somewhere in the woods….think we could find her?_ ”, he whispered, zipping up his coat and bringing the hood over his head in a small attempt to block the horn view from the sides. Lion grumbled, trying to write off the presence of the horn on Steven’s face, and followed the request. Making way to the woods, paws racing against the ground, something about the situation….and Steven’s tone...gave him the conclusion that this was urgent. It was, but not for the exact reason that the big cat was suspecting.

Riding on the back of a lion, moving fast, it took even less time for them to track down Jasper’s cave. She wasn’t outside, but this was the right place, this was where they’d met before. Lion laid down, allowing Steven to get off. He placed the bag next to Lion, and slowly approached the entrance of the cave, a gnawing feeling in his stomach, worry building up again...what if she turned him away? What if she ratted him out to the others? He peered into the cave, but the voice came from far behind rather than close in front. “Why are you back...and...why did you bring that”, Jasper growled, pointing to Lion, who growled right back. “I..really need your help. Or at least your permission to stay here...please?” Steven turned around, in the clear night, Jasper could easily see the shiny and almost pointy silver horn on the boy’s face. “Something’s wrong with you.” There was almost a hint of worry in her voice, she moved quickly towards him, putting a large hand on his cheek, causing him to tense up. “Why is there a horn on your face. That’s not a normal human thing….is it?”, she raised an eyebrow, suddenly moving her hand away, trying to appear like she didn’t really care. She isn’t soft. “It’s not. I think I’m corrupting...because of...well...because of all this…. ** _STUFF happening to me!”_** , he yelled, his bright pink hue enveloped him again at the sheer thought of the previous events, and suddenly he collapsed onto the ground, screaming loudly in pain as the other horn finally tore through the skin, meeting the other horn’s sharpness and length, more blood trickling down his cheek. Lion leapt up and ran over in immediate concern, nudging Steven, trying to lick his wound clean, trying to comfort him. Jasper quickly dropped to her knees, before she knew it, she had a hold of his face, tilting it up to meet her gaze, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to act all soft, but the sudden show of blood and the clear pain got to her, and she picked him up a rather quickly, holding him in her arms, not entirely sure what to do from there. Or if she should even be helping him. Steven tried breathing in and out, shaking still as he felt the horns protrude further. He stared at Jasper, he was so weak in that moment, yet he seemed to trust her, grabbing at her hair, holding it tight, trying to relieve the pain. Lion moved to digging in the bag after struggling to get it open, he gripped the towel in his teeth and trotted over to Jasper, trying to force her to take it. Jasper didn’t make the immediate connection, but with enough guiding from the feline, she slightly understood what to do. Wiping around the horns, keeping the blood from his mouth. Lion assisted with dipping the towel in a nearby river, so that it might work better. Steven was still shaking, but the blood was finally stopping, and Jasper was growing less anxious, she was now growing..more...protective. The quiet noises of the forest caused her to snap and growl, like a mother bear. Steven laying his head against Jasper’s chest, gripping her hair, being held close, the sudden pain combined with being already tired, caused him to drift off to sleep. There wasn’t much else to do but agree to keeping Steven, and his pet, with her. She went through that pain of corruption, and he tried to reach her at that time. Her corruption was so much quicker though, his was slower, he was suffering so much more. So, maybe the softness was okay, at least at the moment. Lion took the bag, and at Jasper’s command, followed her into the cave. They could rest now. Steven was safer here than he could ever be. At least his plan worked in a way.

When the Crystal Gems returned to the house, they had an unpleasant discovery awaiting them.


	2. Gentle Tiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking him in to live with her, Jasper begins to bond with Steven, better than she thought she would.

Daylight came, the sun was only just rising, but it was reaching through the forest, little streams of light across the floor of the cave. Jasper was awake all night, something about all of this had her on edge, she was starting to become more protective of Steven. Their friendship still wasn’t entirely there, but something inside both of them cared about each other. Lion was curled up around both of them, Jasper covered Steven in her tarp to keep him warm, it got rather cold and she didn’t want him to freeze. Now, she just wanted him to rest, he was sleeping so soundly that not a single thing seemed to wake him, and she wanted it to stay that way. Lion had awoken when she went to stand up, so she handed the job of keeping the boy asleep to his beast, and went outside. Jasper knew that Pearl and the others would come looking for him, she didn’t want them to, they don’t get this kind of thing, they barely understand Steven. Jasper may not completely understand him either, but she knows what it’s like to corrupt, and she knows that it’s possible to stop it...as long as he doesn’t get stressed again. They seem to stress him out, so she’s gotta defend her territory from them, keep them out, and she can protect Steven. Setting up basic defenses, checking the area, that’d help. So, that’s what she set off to do. He’ll be fine while she’s gone, he has his lion after all.

The Crystal Gems had indeed discovered Steven’s disappearance, they hadn’t checked his room all night, he was tired after all, so they decided to let him get his rest. When the sun started to come up, and it was bright outside, Pearl found it odd that he wasn’t up yet, he hadn’t been downstairs all morning, and when she entered his room in search of him, he was nowhere to be found. She searched the entire room, realizing that some of his clothes were missing...and he'd taken the bag from his closet. She told Garnet and Amethyst right, Amethyst became a little worried, Garnet attempted to convince them both to stay calm. Lion was always doing his own thing, so they weren’t as worried about him. When they couldn’t find Steven in the house, they decided to call Connie, maybe she just came to hang out with Steven and forgot to say. Yet when Connie picked up, she mentioned that she hasn’t seen him since the last time they hung out. Lion hadn’t come by her house either. Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot couldn’t help as much as they wanted to, they had no information either. Not a single one of them had seen Steven that morning. Keeping Pearl calm was becoming harder, because the more people they talked to, the less they knew where Steven was. Nobody had seen him at all the night before, and the possibilities were thinning, the only option they had left after so much questioning, was that Steven must have snuck out. They came to realize why, what with all the things that he’d been going through, he didn’t want to put up with it. So where exactly did he sneak off too? That was their new question. One they had to answer urgently, they really were worried about him. He might be in danger...

It was around noon before Jasper returned to the cave, proud of her defense system that she’d set up, and relieved that the Crystal Gems hadn’t come to search the woods yet. Steven had woken up before she’d come back, and was eating something that he’d taken from the house when he was preparing, snuggled against Lion. They didn’t speak as Jasper sat down, though Lion made a few grumbles, and flicked his tail. Still silent except for the noise that came from Steven while he was eating, he and Jasper looked at each other, he was only a little surprised when Jasper smiled at him, a genuine smile that didn’t hold any ill intentions behind it. When he finished eating, he stuffed the wrapper down in the bag, going to fiddle with the edges of the tarp as he finally spoke up. “So...I guess you’re alright with me staying here?”, he asked, sitting up from his previous position of laying against Lion. “What does it look like?” Jasper huffed in response, now that Steven was more comfortable and less anxious, she didn’t want to let her guard back down, she forced her smile that she’d given him to fade. She really hoped he didn’t remember the night before. “Fair enough, I guess you’re still...rock solid”, he began to snicker at his own joke, he noticed Jasper cracked a smile and almost laughed, but she shook her head and tried to look away. Steven bumped shoulders with her, “Too late! I already saw!”, he beamed, he seemed so much happier, such a contrast to the sulking and almost enraged boy from the night before. It did indeed make Jasper feel better herself, especially since it meant he wasn’t stressed, so that corruption wouldn’t spread further. “If I let my guard down, you might think you could beat me again”, she smirked a bit, ruffling his hair, she winced for a second when she felt something just barely there on the top of his head...better not mention that, or else it’ll get worse. “I already thought that”, Steven joked, he really felt relaxed, safe, something he hadn’t felt in a while.   
They continued to talk, and started to learn that when they weren’t fighting or being angry at each other, they actually had a lot to talk about. Jasper already felt responsible for Steven, her pity for his condition was the main thing driving this sudden attitude change, but she also...felt bad for him in general. He was always trying to help her, help everyone, and all he got in exchange was hurt. She could understand that, working so hard only to get nothing. Maybe that’s why she suddenly cared about him, because they had a common issue, he didn’t just come to her because she corrupted once, there are plenty of Gems who were victims of corruption. He came to her because somehow, he knew that she wouldn’t tell anyone, that she’d listen. Nobody listened to her, nobody listened to him, but they seemed to listen to each other better than she’d first realized. Now, he really was her responsibility. She had to keep him safe. The others would come to the cave eventually, but Jasper will be waiting for them. She will protect Steven from them, she can’t let them stress him out again...she can’t let him become a monster. Keeping him holed up in the cave won’t do wonders for him for long, she’ll need to let him outside. He likes nature right? Let him wander around with Lion, he’ll be completely safe, he won’t get too upset….sounds like a good enough plan.   
“Do you….think the others are gonna try and make me go back home?” Steven suddenly changed his tone, stroking Lion’s fur, almost looking worried. Jasper sighed, and put an arm around Steven, she looked towards the cave’s exit, and back at him. “Not if I can help it.”


End file.
